


Christmas Miracles

by wanderinglilly



Series: Secret Santa [1]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Identity Reveal, Marichat, Miraculous Ladybug Secret Santa 2015, established marichat, eventually anyway, marichat because we're all trash, someone please hug these nerds, this is shameless fluff, will add characters as they appear
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-24
Updated: 2015-12-29
Packaged: 2018-05-08 22:21:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5515421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wanderinglilly/pseuds/wanderinglilly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Adrien bought the brooches on a whim.</p><p>An odd thing, because he’s not really an impulse buyer, but he could picture them in Marinette’s hair the second he saw them on the display of the jewelry store, and he had to buy them. Now, seeing Marinette’s face light up as she opens the gift box, he’s never been so glad to be able to afford things.</p><p>OR another fic where their gifts give them away</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [stroberis](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=stroberis).



> yes. hello it is i, the trash lord. lady??? whatever. This was my gift for @stroberis on tumblr for the Miraculous Ladybug Secret Santa exchange, and even though it was late i think it is correct to say that they enjoyed it?? i hope so anyway. This was also a very convenient way to indulge in our favorite form of sin: marichat
> 
>  **notes:** gigi genevieve isn't actually a jewelry brand, it just sounded nice. also, i have not forgotten my dumb dorks series, i'm just trying to give you guys the best sequel i can!

“Merry Christmas, Marinette.”

Adrien bought the brooches on a whim.

An odd thing, because he’s not really an impulse buyer, but he could picture them in Marinette’s hair the second he saw them on the display of the jewelry store, and he _had_ to buy them. Now, seeing Marinette’s face light up as she opens the gift box, he’s never been so glad to be able to afford things.

“Chat Noir…” she trails off, rubbing her gloved hands against them, her lips parted in amazement. “…a-are these _Gigi Genevieve_?”

“Does it matter, my princess?” he replies. It’s adorable the way she stumbles over her words when she’s flustered, and the _quality_ time he’s spent with her these past months has given a new meaning to everything he’s ever associated with Marinette. Now he can’t help but compare and overanalyze everything she ever says to him in and out of costume, to match up the faint pink that dusts her cheeks as she talks to Adrien against the dark red that takes over her cheeks after he kisses her with enough intensity to make her forget how to breathe. The thought brings a smirk to his face.

Marinette must catch his train of thought, because she pushes his face away with a mock-frown.

“Silly kitty. These must have cost you a fortune, I… I can’t take them.” She whispers. The light snow falling around them accentuates her dark blue coat and Chat Noir’s green eyes fixate on her own blue ones as he pushes the box back with both his claws.

“The only thing I thought when I bought them was how beautiful they would look in your hair, princess. But if they make you uncomfortable, I will take them back.” He assures, pressing his fingers against her in what he hopes is a comforting gesture (he’s always so uncertain when it comes to the people he cares about, so desperate to make them feel at ease).

Marinette seems to ponder his words for a moment. He can never get enough of the way she never dismisses his words, even his silliest ones, always thinking what she’s going to say to him before speaking up. He used to think it was over-cautiousness but… what could Marinette possibly have to hide?

“Shouldn’t you be giving these to Ladybug?” Chat Noir tenses. Marinette’s words are spoken with a teasing tone but there is an uncertainty in her eyes that makes him feel guilty. Ever since that night when he playfully asked her for a token of her affection and she uncertainly slanted her lips upon his, they haven’t talked about _them_ , even though Chat Noir, no, Adrien, feels like nothing has ever seemed so real as the intense way in which he cares for Marinette.

“I wasn’t thinking about her when I bought them.” He says slowly, prying her hands off the gift box to properly hold them in his gloved hands. He wonders how it would feel to touch her skin without the spandex. “I was thinking about _you_ , my princess. And..” he adds hesitantly. After all, he still deeply admires Ladybug, even if he has resigned himself and moved on. Sort of. “.. I don’t think she would have taken them even if I’d wanted to give them to her –which I didn’t. I don’t.” he quickly adds.

In front of him, the black haired girl keeps quiet for a moment, then hums and smiles at him. “Okay then.” She says, squeezing his hands back before dropping them, an expression of surprise taking over her face. “I forgot!” she exclaims, throwing her hands up in the air. “I have a gift for you too!”

Before he can react, Marinette is halfway into her bedroom, the small trapdoor on her roof allowing the snow to fall on her bedroom. A moment later, she’s hoisting herself out of the trapdoor, a green package with a black ribbon held in one of her hands.

“Aww, princess, you got me a gift?” he teases, playing down the blush that rises from his neck to his cheeks, thankfully mostly hidden by the mask.

“I uh..” Marinette starts, her shyness suddenly going up to _facing-Adrien_ levels. “I actually m-made this for you so… it isn’t as good… it’s okay if you don’t…”

He takes the gift away from her hands before she can go any further. “May I open it?”

She nods silently, and Chat Noir notices her smiling at his anticipation from the corner of his eye, her hands twisting and untwisting themselves as he takes his time opening the box, knowing he’ll love it even if it’s just socks.

It’s not just socks though. Inside the box is a bright red beanie with the face of a green eyed black cat embroidered on the lapel. He takes it out carefully, wishing his hands were ungloved so he could feel the softness of the fabric between his fingers.

“Marinette…” he says, an amazed lilt to his voice. “This is absolutely purrfect” Marinette snorts, but the atmosphere seems lighter and he offers her a cattish green. “This has no cat ears though, does my princess want to find out the boy behind the cat?”

Adrien doesn’t think she’d like that, though knowing now that her stuttering usually means she’s embarrassed, he wonders just how true that is. Marinette brings a finger to her chin in a thoughtful gesture.

“I considered it.” She says, the determined tone that takes over her voice when she speaks of her designs making an appearance as she speaks. “But I figured that’d be more of a giveaway, since you can just hide the cat by lowering the lapel. I wanted to give you something that you could wear anytime, so you’d be protected from the cold.” She explains, taking the hat in her hands so she can lower the lapel to hide the embroidered cat. “There. I don’t think that suit of yours is very warm.”

“What do I want a warm suit for,” he retorts, snaking an arm around her waist to push her flush against his body. She’s impossibly warm, and he lowers his head to purr in her ear: “when I have my princess to warm me up?”

Marinette huffs as she feebly hits him on the chest, but makes no move to stop him when he lowers his face to hers, close enough for him to feel her breath ghosting over his face, and she eagerly closes her eyes at the same time his lips find hers in the warmest of kisses.

There, kissing Marinette in her balcony on a Christmas night, Chat Noir, no, Adrien has never had a better holiday.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> To Adrien’s utmost delight, Marinette wears her new brooches to school when winter break is over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i just can't stop sinning.

To Adrien’s utmost delight, Marinette wears her new brooches to school when winter break is over.

Rarely enough, she’s on time, which gives enough time for their classmates to compliment her on the absolutely amazing new outfit she’s wearing (grey sweater tucked into a red skirt with black tights, a gift from her parents), and notice the adornments on her hair. Beside him, Nino throws out a “Looking good, Marinette!” and high fives Alya, who looks nothing short of a proud mom.

It goes unnoticed by Adrien, who’s trying really hard to both not look smug as hell because _Marinette is wearing the brooches he gave her_ and just plainly not stare at her.

“Did you rob a bank to buy those?” he hears Chloe say. “Those are Gigi Genevieve, and I doubt you could afford them even with a year of sales from your second-rate _boulangerie_.”

Adrien scowls, ready to jump to Marinette’s defense; but since it’s not him she’s talking to, she’s not afraid to stand up for herself. With her hands on her hips and her legs parted in what looks like a vaguely familiar fighting stance, his princess looks ready to fight and _win_.

“Did your daddy not get you everything you wanted this year, Chloe?” she spits, a fire in her beautiful blue eyes that leaves Adrien breathless. His childhood friend looks ready to offer a retort, but Marinette is quicker than her. “These were a gift, not that it’s any of your business, and I don’t need expensive things to feel good about myself.”

And with that she walks away to her seat, nose high in the air. Alya promptly asks her to go to the bathroom with her, possibly to discuss what just happened. The blogger looks like someone just told her Ladybug wants to give her an interview, while Marinette just gives her a nervous smile as they pass by his seat in the direction of the door.

Nino whistles. “Whoa, that was a sick burn.” His best friend says, leaning his head on his arms. Nino isn’t exactly a quiet person, and the comment elicits an indignant huff from Chloe. “Better be careful with Marinette, eh Adrien?”

“Yeah,” he agrees softly. Beside him, Nino’s eyes take on a curious look, and on his other side Chloe chatters on about insolent nobodies, but Adrien’s mind only registers Marinette’s fierce expression as she defended herself and her gift. “She’s amazing.”

_And she’s mine_. He adds silently.

-

To Adrien’s discomfort, Nino spends the school day exchanging glances with Alya, which wouldn’t be so unusual given his friend’s newfound interest for the blogger, but he also gestures at him with his eyes a good number of times, and it slightly unnerves him. What can they possibly be talking about? How can they even _talk_ with their eyes?

Then his bad luck which had so thankfully receded during the winter break –or well, as much as the embodiment of bad luck could get it to recede-, makes a grand comeback in the form of a winter-themed akuma towards the end of the school day.

Jack Frost is a little more than a kid, and he’s going to get back at everyone for having to go back to school so soon. Not without some exasperation, Adrien fakes a phone call from Nathalie to get out of the classroom, and ducks into a bathroom stall to coax Plagg into transforming him.

“You better get me a good supply of Camembert after this, boy.” The kwami grumbles before going into the ring with his arms crossed. Seconds later, Chat Noir stands in the bathroom stall, from where he departs through a window. The akuma seems to have a particular vengeance with the school, making Adrien wonder whether the kid under the spell is an underclassman in the College Francois Dupont.

Jumping around the roof, he attacks the akuma from behind, but since his powers are snow based, his staff does little against them. He huffs in annoyance, impatient for Ladybug to arrive, fearful to use his Cataclysm and drain himself before she comes up with one more brilliant plan for them to take down the villain. Eyeing the kid as he dodges blast after blast of snow, he thinks Hawk Moth must be getting desperate, seeing as the akumas grow more ridiculous and more vicious each time they appear.

“Why are you running, Chat Noir?” the akuma taunts, “Are you getting cold feet?”

A few metres ahead, Chat Noir groans. Even _his_ puns aren’t that bad. Thankfully, before the akuma can throw out another icy jab, Ladybug shows up.

“My Lady!” he smiles, waving as he jumps to her side. “You’ve arrived at last!”

“Yeah,” Ladybug says, giving him a small smile. “The road was blocked by some snow.” She mutters, looking around to assess the damage.

“It’s _snow_ big deal.” Chat Noir says, offering her a cattish smile. Beside him, Ladybug groans, clutching her face with one spandex-covered hand.

“Let’s just get this over with, shall we?”

“Snow problem, my Lady.”

Instead of replying, Ladybug just jumps forward, propelling herself with her yoyo and yelling some taunt at the akuma. Chat Noir follows with a burst of laughter that dies in his chest as soon as he sees the back of his Lady’s head.

Because there, resting over the knot of her red ribbons, are Marinette’s brooches.

-

 To say that Adrien is freaking out would be an understatement.

As soon as the akuma is defeated, he uses the excuse of running out of time to bail even though he didn’t even use his superpower, and he’s out of sight before Ladybug can even open her mouth to point it out.

Ladybug? Or Marinette?

If Marinette is Ladybug, why didn’t she tell him so? And why does he have to find out now that he’s finally let go of his feelings for her?

As he detransforms in the bathroom stall where he first hid in, he attributes it to his ever present bad luck.

And in spite the fact that he is shocked beyond words, he can kind of understand her. He is a little upset, but he can still see Marinette’s uncertainty when she asked him about the brooches, if he should have given them to Ladybug instead, the slight quivering of her lips at the thought of being overshadowed by a superhero that, she has admitted, she feels inferior to.

Even more than the shock and the understanding, Adrien finds himself delighted beyond words. How many sleepless nights did he spend, agonizing over his torn heart? Were his feelings for Ladybug real if he had so easily fallen for Marinette? Or was he just using Marinette as a way to get over Ladybug? He fell for the girl both times, and he’s impossibly happy at being reciprocated.

_All this time,_ he thinks, barely suppressing a smile as he leaves the bathroom stall in search for his backpack. _And they were the same person_.

Humming a silly song to himself, Adrien walks into the classroom to see the last of his classmates leaving, and when he spots Marinette right as he takes his schoolbag, he offers her the brightest smile he can muster up, which she returns with a shy smile of her own.

-

Predictably, the next morning snows, and Adrien shows up to school with a black coat and his red beanie sitting proudly on top of his head, the lapel folded so that when he greets Alya and Marinette that morning, the black cat salutes her from the side of his head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> someone took the line break off the rich text formatting and i want to throw a fit :(((  
> whine with me on [tumblr](http://chatnoirslady.tumblr.com)? you can also leave a comment below if you'd like!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She’s staring at him, blue eyes wide as saucers. Her pink lips are slightly parted in a way that makes Adrien want to take her to a dark corridor and not ever let her leave. With the restraint that comes with years and years of having to hold a pose, he waves a hand at her and nods at Alya in recognition before turning around to take his seat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello guys! you've reached the end of my little seasonal fic! i hope you guys enjoyed it at least half as much as i enjoyed writing it, the comments have been amazing and i cannot thank you enough. without further ado, here is the final part of the sinning we all love

“A-A-Adrien!?”

Marinette’s voice is somewhere between a squeak and a scream, and Adrien’s lips quiver with the urge to turn his gentle smile into a full blown smirk.

She’s staring at him, blue eyes wide as saucers. Her pink lips are slightly parted in a way that makes Adrien want to take her to a dark corridor and not ever let her leave. With the restraint that comes with years and years of having to hold a pose, he waves a hand at her and nods at Alya in recognition before turning around to take his seat.

His satisfaction is short lived, because a few seconds later he hears a shuffling behind him, then feels a small hand place itself upon his forearm.

“A-Adrien?” she calls, and when he looks over to her she’s impossibly close, cheeks pink with embarrassment in spite of the steely decision in her eyes. “May I talk to you, in private?”

Absentmindedly, Adrien thinks this is the first time in a while that she utters a completely straight sentence at him, and feeling mischievous, he replies: “I don’t think your physics grade can stand a little _chat_ , my Lady.” Marinette lets out a quiet gasp, and the lingering doubts in her expression vanish at his choice of words. So do Adrien’s, but it’s possible that she may not be quite as elated as he feels at the fact.

Right as if on cue, Madame Mendeleiev crosses the threshold of the classroom, greeting her students with her usual severe face. Adrien offers Marinette a smirk as he lays his cheek on a waiting hand. But as always, she takes him by surprise.

“Then I guess it’s a good thing you’re so good at physics, kitty.” She mutters right as takes his hand and yanks him upright, pulling him out of the classroom before he can even protest. As they get away, the class’ stares follow them to the corridor and throughout the school.

* * *

 

Marinette doesn’t stop walking until they reach a deserted corridor towards the back of the _collège_. It’s far enough from the front that a light shadow is spread around the place, making it the ideal setting for Adrien to make his earlier thoughts about dark corridors come true, but his lovely companion beats every light-hearted thing off his mind with her heavy, cautiously uttered words.

“Adrien” she says, her bright blue eyes fleeting between his face and the kitty on his beanie. “Where… did you get that hat?”

Even though his inner Chat Noir is begging him to take the opportunity to tease her, Adrien looks straight into her eyes, green eyes just as serious as her.

“I think you know, Marinette.”

“B-but you… But if you’re…” she babbles, her hands clutching her cheeks in a panicked frenzy. She half turns away, looking torn between running away and staying to grind more answers out of him. Adrien’s hands are twitching to reach out and wrap themselves around her petite frame while she processes things, but Marinette, this girl that he so long believed was shy, wears her heart on her sleeve, and right now her heart seems to need some space. “I-if you’re Chat Noir then… then we… oh my god!” she squeaks as her fingers reach up to partially cover her eyes. “How did you find out?”

“Your brooches.” He replies without missing a beat. She’s already too overwhelmed as it is, Adrien doesn’t want to put her through more than she can bear. _And if she’s going to dump me_ , he thinks _, I hope she’ll be gentle_. Adrien knows that is a ridiculous thought in more ways than one, knows Marinette’s feelings for Chat Noir and that even if she didn’t want to be with Adrien, she would never be mean about it, but years and years of being brushed off by his father and the way she always clams up when she’s around him gnaw at him from the pit of his stomach. “They didn’t disappear when you transformed.”

Gasping, Marinette reaches up to her pigtails, where once again the brooches are adorning her hair. Adrien wonders if she’s regretting accepting them in the first place. She keeps quiet for a while, and even though he doesn’t want to pressure her into saying anything she may or may not mean, the uncertainty of it all is killing him; his fists clench and unclench with anxiety, and the words leave his mouth before he can stop them.

“Are you… disappointed?” Marinette rises her gaze from the floor to meet his eyes, her brow furrowed in annoyance despite the storm in her eyes.

“Disappointed? W-why would I be disappointed?”

“You never talk to me when I’m not Chat Noir. I mean… you’re always stuttering and avoiding me… I thought maybe you didn’t like me.” He admits, feeling the tips of his ears burn as he acknowledges just how whiny his words sound and how Marinette’s annoyed expression won’t leave her face. In fact, she brings a hand to her face in what is very evidently a facepalm, a slight groan escaping her mouth.

“I… Adrien…” suddenly the flush he’s so accustomed to seeing in the mornings makes an appearance, taking over his princess’ face as she takes a deep breath and reaches for his hand. “I never… I never could speak to you properly because I liked you, Adrien.”

_Oh_. Well, that surely explained a lot. Like Nino’s constant eyebrow-wiggling in her direction, and his best friend’s silent conversations with Alya. But if she _liked_ him…

“And you gave up on me.” He whispers, eyes downcast.

“W-well… you didn’t seem to like me back… and when Chat- when _you_ started showing up in my balcony, looking for _me_ , not for Ladybug, but for silly Marinette…” she trails off, the flush still present. Adrien thought this was going to be a day of revelations for her but he’s now just as overwhelmed as his partner in fighting crime.

“You don’t have to justify yourself to me, Marinette.” He says softly, reaching for the hand she let go of in order to take a few steps back to recompose herself, a purpose for which she finds little success, apparently. “And, Marinette, my lady… don’t belittle yourself like that.” He takes her other hand to bring both of them to his chest, the action bringing them close enough for him to smell her sweet perfume.

“A-Adrien… Chat Noir… does this mean that you –that because I am Ladybug-”

“I’ve been kissing Marinette all this time, haven’t I?” Adrien interrupts before she can go on any further. His lady has a thing for picturing the worst-case-scenarios all of the time, and while he usually finds it endearing, he needs to clear away her doubts at the moment. “I didn’t know you were Ladybug until yesterday. I did –I _do_ have a crush on Ladybug, but Marinette, you stole my heart.” He declares, fighting the rising blush on his cheeks. His heart feels like it’s going to burst out of his chest and throw itself into her hands, but Adrien finds he wouldn’t even be mad at it if it did.

Marinette untangles one of her hands from his to bring it up to his face, the tips of her fingers caressing his straw blond bangs. Adrien leans into her touch, drinking in the awed expression on her face, the way the blush brings out the constellation of freckles that dust her nose and cheeks, how her eyes are bright enough to outshine the sun and all of the stars.

“Say something.” He pleads like the needy cat he is. As a gust of cold wind crosses the corridor, Marinette brushes her thumb across his lower lip, and he’s grateful to have an excuse for the shiver it elicits. Suddenly she’s pulling her hands from him so she can encircle him in her arms, hiding her face in his coat. Adrien feels a relieved breath escape his lips; she’s not rejecting him. “Princess?”

“We’re not very bright people, are we?” she muses, her voice muffled by his coat; Adrien takes the opportunity to return the embrace, hands rubbing soothing patterns on her back. When she looks up, her bangs are a little askew, and though he’s seen her flushed to the roots of her hair and breathless and thoroughly kissed, she’s never been this beautiful and real and _his_ before.

“We’re going to be okay.” He assures, squeezing her against him. Their faces are centimeters apart. “Marinette,” he says slowly, looking her square in the eyes. “May I kiss you?”

She nods so hard she hits him on the nose, making him chuckle despite the pain, putting a hand on her cheek to guide her wanting mouth to his.

* * *

 

Adrien spends New Year’s Eve with Marinette too, but this time, he goes through the front door of the _boulangerie_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> they wear their gifts to each other on new year's eve bc they're dorks and i love them
> 
> i was going to put "inches apart" on that line but then i thought "screw americans and their reluctance to get with the decimal metric system" and went with centimetres bc they're smaller *insert black moon emoji*. anyway guys this has been all for this fic i hope you guys liked it and if you did you can leave a comment here or visit me @ my [tumblr](http://chatnoirslady.tumblr.com) if you'd like!
> 
> p.s.: WOHOOO THE LINE BREAK IS BACK

**Author's Note:**

> like it? hate it?? do you have a cat pun i'd enjoy??? you can leave a comment here or in my [tumblr](http://chatnoirslady.tumblr.com) !  
> see you around pals!


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